A New Twist
by Death's Daughter
Summary: Vague 9JackRose. Written for fanfic100 on livejournal prompt 67, 'Snow'. The trio visit a planet with some interesting weather features.


There was a shout and a 'thump' followed by a muffled curse. Rose looked up from her snow man and frowned when she realised the Doctor had disappeared from sight. Abandoning her semi-formed creation, she struggled up the slight incline which the Doctor had been standing on and peered down the other side.

"Y'alright down there?" She called, amused, when she saw the Doctor struggling to his feet with as much dignity as he could muster. He shot her a slightly wounded glare and brushed the snow off his jacket. "What happened?"

"I fell over a bit." He said haughtily, clambering back up the slope to where she was standing. "Helped somewhat by his royal highness the Snow Queen over there." He nodded to where Jack was sitting up one of the many bare trees around, holding a snowball and grinning wickedly.

"Don't blame your crappy sense of balance on me, Doc." Jack yelled with a laugh. "If you'd been more awake it wouldn't have surprised you that much!"

"So you threw a snowball at me to test my reflexes?" The Doctor said dryly.

"Yep." Jack grinned a grin that was bright even against the snow and carelessly threw the snowball in his hand. It arched gracefully in the air and hit the Doctor in the chest.

"And what was that one for?" The Doctor asked pleasantly, raising an eyebrow.

"The 'Snow Queen' comment." Jack jumped down from his perch and began to stroll towards them. "Just because I'm secure in my sexuality."

"Didn't think there was much to be insecure about when you just shag anything that comes along." Rose said, quirking her own eyebrows. Jack turned a mock-pained expression on her.

"You're tag-teaming me now? That's hardly fair…"

"Neither was belting me with a blinking snowball when I was busy being a genius." The Doctor said.

"That'd be a first." Rose quipped, and stuck her tongue out at the Doctor when he favoured her with his usual unimpressed expression.

"Alright, I'll bite." Jack said, when it was clear the Doctor wasn't going to offer any more information now his pride had been wounded. "What were you being a genius about?"

"This place." The Doctor grinned smugly at them. "Why there's no aliens here."

"Why?" Rose asked – she'd been curious about that herself. "Has it got something to do with all the snow?"

"Yep." The Doctor scooped up a handful and held it out for them to inspect. "Looks just like snow, doesn't it?"

"That's 'cause it _is_ snow." Jack pointed out. "Isn't it?"

"Yes and no." The Doctor's grin grew impossibly wider. He tugged Jack closer and, without any warning, shoved the handful of snow down the back of the American's shirt.

Rose laughed as Jack let out an undignified yelp and started squirming against the Doctor's grip on his shoulder, to try and get the snow out.

"Come on, that's not fair! It's _cold_ dammit – oh." Jack paused, his eyes widening. "Snow doesn't normally do that." He said in a somewhat choked voice.

"Nope." The Doctor's voice was thick with amusement.

"What's it doing?"

"It's…Moving round." Jack said, swallowing. "And it's gotten warmer…Doc – is this stuff _alive_?"

"Bingo!" The Doctor said cheerfully. "Every single flake – a sentient being in its own right. And you've got a couple of thousand of 'em making their way to your trousers."

"There's a party in Jack's pants." Rose snickered. "And everyone's invited."

"…Why?" Jack asked, sucking in a sharp breath as something interesting clearly happened.

"Telepathic." The Doctor told them, as Jack grabbed onto his arm in an effort to stay upright and he bit his lip in an attempt to prevent any particularly loud noises escaping. "Snowflakes don't have mouths – so they communicate through telepathy."

"So…they're reading Jack's mind?" Rose said slowly, watching her friend's face with a mixture of fascination and embarrassment.

"And giving him exactly what he wants." The Doctor chuckled slightly, folding his arms and watching as Jack's breathing became heavier. "Friendly lot. Don't get many visitors, so when they do they like to make 'em feel welcome." He nodded over to where Rose had left her half-built snowman. Rose followed his gaze and blinked when she saw her snowman standing as tall as the Doctor, smiling benignly at the world. Her attention was diverted somewhat, though, when Jack let out a loud moan. She felt herself blushing as she watched him lean more heavily against the Doctor.

"…Why aren't they, y'know, melting?" Rose asked eventually, licking her lips, her mouth strangely dry.

"They're alive, aren't they? Living things don't melt."

"But what about in the summer?" She brought her hand up to tug at her scarf slightly. Jack was looking about as flushed as she felt.

"All the older ones die off in early spring – 's when the breeding season is as well." The Doctor waved one of his hands vaguely. "So it looks just like summer, only with piles of snow everywhere. And then, late autumn, early winter, all the new flakes are born and it looks like this."

"Wow." Rose cleared her throat. "An' it just goes round and round like that."

"Yep." The Doctor smiled at her. "Nature taking its natural course." Jack gave a shout and then slumped against the Doctor, chest heaving. "And making any visitors happy when it can." The Doctor winked at Rose and brought a hand up to ruffle Jack's hair. "Gives a whole new twist to the term 'snowballing', doesn't it?" He said cheekily.

Jack just groaned.


End file.
